Description
William I'Anson Ltd are delighted to announce for sale The Ex - Sebring 12 Hours, Puerto Rico Auto Club, 1957 Lotus Eleven Le Mans ‘Wide Chassis’.
This car is a rare and highly original, late series 1 Lotus Eleven "Le Mans" specification, retaining its factory chassis, bodywork and 1100cc Coventry-Climax engine. One of the last of the Series 1 examples, detailed on Lotus build sheets as “Wide Sebring” body and “Sebring 2” under other items, it was shipped straight to Jacksonville Florida as one of four Team Lotus cars destined for the 1957 Sebring 12 Hours.
Carrying the works trade registration number ‘9 EHX’ and featured the famous “Team Lotus” pinstripe along the side, its rich period international race history, includes 3rd in class at the 1957 Sebring 12 Hours and showings at the Bahamas Speed Weeks, followed by an extensive and well-documented SCCA career through the early to mid 1960s.
The fabulous accompanying history file highlights a continuous traceable history from new, including period race badges from Nassau and the pit passes from the 1957 Sebring 12 Hours, as well as long-term accounts by period owner and racers Jack Brady.
Preserved in its almost unmolested condition in the US, sympathetic works have since been carried out with Lotus guru’s Mike Brotherhood and Bob Dove in the hands of its current owner.
Painted to match its 1957 Sebring 12 Hours specification, mechanically fresh yet, yet remaining highly original, and more recently successfully driven to the Le Mans Classic with the Historic Lotus register.
This offers the very rare opportunity to acquire such period correct, and highly eligible Eleven, not only with such a pedigree period international racing history, but also some seldom seen and unique original features only ever given to the wide chassis Sebring cars.
For more information, please enquire or visit our website.
